Page 45 of Fighting Gravity
“The water is cleansing. It has all the antibacterial components in it that you should need.”
“Ah.”
I started gently rubbing my hands over my body, scrubbing the filth off of me. When my hand slid around to the back of my shoulder, I felt a tender, swelling knot that made me wince at the touch. I sucked in a breath through clenched teeth and decided not to rub that spot and instead moved elsewhere.
“You have bone bruising in multiple places,” Norm said.
“I gathered that.”
I continued to do my best to ignore my unwelcome companion as I relished my bath, wondering if I’d get another one anytime soon. But then I heard Norm’s padded feet moving through the bathhouse. Looking over my shoulder, I saw him stepping into a stall across from me, butt naked.
Shit.
The first thing I saw was his taught backside and I was ashamed to admit my eyes lingered there for a second and a half. His legs were strong with muscular striations throughout. But they were so damn alien. That odd bend in them reminded me how far I was from anything familiar so I panned back up, my eyes meeting his back. A tapered waist sat over squared hipbones and as I followed the curve of his spine to his broad shoulders, I noticed markings that looked too asymmetrical to be a part of his anatomy.
When I realized the marks were scars, my interest peaked. He had long slashes over his shoulder blade. A firecracker-shaped scar near the middle of his spine. A few scattered spots that I would have assumed were bullet holes If I thought aliens used bullets.
When the water slickened Norm’s emerald skin, my heart jumped a little at the way the drops slid over the contours of his body.
And that was when I realized I was sick.
My cheeks should not have been heating at the sight of a creature like him, who’d tortured me for information I didn’t have. Who sold me to some sick, spike-headed creep on an alien spaceport. I shook the ideas from my head, chalking it up to my being crazed by all the excitement.
Of course, that didn’t account for my horniness. I hadn’t had any action in months and the action I did get was from my vibrator.
Not that Norm was turning me on. That was gross…
As he started to scrub his hands over his body, he splashed water all over, careless of how rough he was in cleaning himself. I stared and as I did, he slowly pivoted to face me. Too entranced by the strangeness of his form, I didn’t look away. His body followed his head until he was facing me completely. His torso was cut to muscular shreds that I could wash my clothes on if I wanted to. But the same kinds of scars he had on his back extended to his chest.
And I started to count them because I wasn’t oblivious to the thick member dangling between his legs. I could see it in my peripheral and was doing everything I could not to take a real look.
I could just turn around.
Easier said than done.
Lifting my gaze to Norm’s, I saw him staring right back at me, watching as my eyes slithered all over him. He didn’t have a care at all that I was soaking him in and it irked me because I was still feeling pretty vulnerable.
I was sick of feeling vulnerable.
“What?” I said.
“You don’t like others looking at your naked form and yet you stare at mine without restraint.”
“I’m looking for weak spots,” I shrugged. “In case I need to stab you.”
The cocky bastard just lifted his chin, raising his hand to the side of his neck.
“Here,” he said. Then his hand slid deliberately slow down his chest to the side of his ribcage. “Here.”
I scoffed. “You know that if I get my hands on a weapon, I’m going to remember those spots.”
“I know.” He walked out of his stall toward me, crossing the path into my space. Folding my arms over my breasts, I froze, unable to retreat with a body that felt like it had been through a meat grinder. “But remember this.” His eyes moved over my very naked form again. “You’re human. I’ve come to learn that every spot on you is weak.”
“Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Norm.”
“That’s not my name.”
“I don’t care.”
